After graduating with great distinction from the Montreal Conservatory of Music in 2006 in Johanne Arel's class, she then furthered her skills at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University under the guidance of Denise Lupien. After her studies, between 2007 and 2009, she regularly played with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as an extra; she is a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and holds the position of associate concertmaster at the Vancouver Island Symphony. A talented and passionate violinist, Lyne Allard is sought after throughout the Montreal area as a teacher, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Currently the associate principal second violin at the Metropolitan Orchestra, she also holds a position in the first violin section of the symphony orchestras of Trois-Rivières and Longueuil. Additionally, she is a founding member of the Montreal music teachers' cooperative, a social economy business founded in 2009 and honored with several awards and distinctions. Lyne Allard has been a member of NEM since 2015.
A 2016 graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal where he studied with Johanne Arel, Hubert Brizard is a violinist from Longueuil. Recipient of several summer scholarships, he had the chance to learn with great violinists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Grigory Kalinovsky, William Van Der Sloot, Jonathan Crow and Andrew Wan. He has been part of the Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal (ECM+) for 3 years, and from 20214 is member of Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. Passionate about new music, he has participated in many memorable creations, such as Hockey Noir by André Ristic (ECM+), Evta by Ana Sokolovic (ECM+), Qui pourra monter à la montagne de l’Éternel by Katia Makdissi-Warren (NEM ) as well as …et à la fin… by Brice Gatinet.
Martin Carpentier earned his Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance, magna cum laude, from McGill University, where he studied with Emilio Iacurto. He went on to serve as Principal Clarinet with the Orchestre des Jeunes du Québec. In 1992, he was invited to participate in an internship organized by Karl Leister, Principal Clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic. He then obtained his Master of Music in Performance from the Université de Montréal, under the supervision of André Moisan. A highly sought-after clarinetist, Carpentier performs regularly with the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Opéra de Montréal, the orchestra of the Festival International de Lanaudière and Les Violons du Roy. As a chamber musician, he has participated in many recordings with Pentaèdre – of which he is the art director – and the Orchestre Métropolitain. He also teaches at the Université de Montréal and Université du Québec à Montréal. Carpentier has been a member of the NEM since 2001.
After completing his Master of Music degree at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, under the supervision of René Gosselin, Yannick Chênevert was awarded a prize with great distinction in 1999. A versatile musician, he has readily evolved in several music styles such as classical, baroque, modern, pop and jazz. A member of the I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra since 2012, Chênevert is also a supplemental bass player in the main ensembles and orchestras of the Montreal area. Since 2015, he has been teaching double bass at Cégep Saint-Laurent and the Université de Montréal. Chênevert has been a member of the NEM since 2000..
Lorraine Vaillancourt, double bass chair
Alex Eastley is a Montreal-based bassoonist who performs in a wide range of styles, including classical, contemporary and free improvisation, contemporary and free improvisation. A graduate of McGill University and the Curtis Institute of Music, she was interim second bassoon of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal for the 2018/19 season and was previously principal bassoon of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2018. She has performed with orchestras around the world, including the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Hallé, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, and the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne. In the field of improvised music, Alex has performed with the London Improvisers Orchestra (UK), the Dutch Impro Academy in Amsterdam, Vitamin-S in Auckland, and at the Audio Foundation in Auckland. She is a member of 5ilience, the first reed quintet in Quebec. Alex taught at the Curtis Institute of Music's Young Artist Summer Program (YASP) from 2016 to 2020 and was on the faculty of the institution's inaugural "Curtis Mentor Network" program in 2020 and 2021. She has been a lecturer at the University of Manitoba and Memorial University (NL), and a member of the faculty at Brandon University (MB) from 2014 to 2018.
Bruno-Laurence Joyal holds a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a fifth cycle diploma from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal under Patrice Richer. He also specialized in various festivals in Germany and studied with luminaries such as Jesper Sørensen from the Berlin Philharmonic, Jörgen Van Rijen, Mark Lawrence, Stefan Schultz, and James Box. In addition to being a member of the NEM and the Montreal Trombone Quartet, he actively works as a freelancer in Montreal, notably with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Drummondville, Longueuil, Laval, Gatineau, Trois-Rivières, and Saguenay Lac-St-Jean orchestras, as well as with the I Musici chamber orchestra, the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the SMCQ, and Les Violons du Roy. He can be heard in various styles with groups such as Thiscotech, Renaud Gratton, Lysandre Ménard, Prince Mychkine, Antoine Lachance, Charles Robert, Ludovic Alarie, and many other artists from the Montreal scene. Bruno is also a professor of classical trombone at Cégep de Vincent-d’Indy.
Antoine Mailloux began learning the trumpet at the age of 11. It was initially through playing the mellophone with the Stentors, a drum and bugle corps from Sherbrooke, that he discovered a love for brass instruments. A graduate of the CÉGEP de Saint-Laurent and the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Antoine is also a recipient of the Paul Merkelo scholarship for brass at the OSM Manulife competition. He is a former intern of the Contemporary Orchestra at the Lucerne Festival, an international academy specializing in contemporary music, where he was able to refine his skills under Marco Blaauw. Antoine has been the principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Orchestra since 2023 and is active as a freelancer with several other ensembles in the country, notably with Les Violons du Roy, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
Alexandre Meloche RE/MAX, trumpet chair
The extensive experience gained as a pianist, chamber musician, accompanist, and vocal coach makes Francis Perron a sought-after partner. He has forged close collaborations with, among others, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Opéra de Montréal and its Atelier lyrique, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Wien Kammeroper, the Vienna and Zurich Winterthur conservatories, ARD Musik Wettbewerb, the Salzburg Summer Academy, the University of Freiburg, the Avignon International Violin Competition, the Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition in Vienna, the Royaumont Festival, and the Montreal International Musical Competition. Francis Perron offers master classes at the Vancouver International Song Institute, the Orford Arts Centre, the Mexico Liederfest, the conservatories of Paris and Lyon, and the New England Conservatory in Boston. In May 2013, he won the award for the best voice-piano duo at the Positively Poulenc competition in New York. He accompanies in recital many renowned artists, such as François Le Roux and Nathalie Paulin. A founding member of the Orford Six Pianos ensemble – for which he has made several arrangements, Francis Perron has several recordings to his name and has been heard frequently on the airwaves of Radio-Canada, CBC, and Radio France Internationale. Finally, he is an associate professor and Vice-Dean of Recruitment, International Affairs, and Interinstitutional Relations at the Faculty of Music of the University of Montreal, where he teaches Lied and melody classes and is responsible for the accompaniment program. Francis Perron has been a member of the NEM since 2017.
Gwénaëlle Ratouit is a versatile clarinetist active as a chamber musician and orchestral player in Montreal. Her curiosity today leads her to perform in various projects between classical music and contemporary music in Europe and Quebec. After several years of musical studies in France, where she honed her skills with the soloists of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Gwénaëlle developed her musical personality and refined her playing alongside Martin Carpentier at the University of Montreal, where she obtained her Master's in Performance. She also holds a French teaching diploma and a degree in Musicology. A recipient of several awards and scholarships, she notably won the First Julie Sirois Prize organized by the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne twice in a row.
Playing instruments ranging from the E-flat clarinet to the bass clarinet, Gwénaëlle regularly performs in contemporary music ensembles, with the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and Paramirabo, as well as in chamber music with a classical repertoire in wind octet and new music with the reed quintet 5ilience. She participates in numerous recordings for emerging artists and film music composers in Quebec. She also performs as an extra in symphonic orchestras and wind ensembles in France and Quebec. Deeply committed to knowledge transmission, she currently teaches clarinet and bass clarinet in high schools. Gwénaëlle has been a member of the NEM since 2023.
A recipient of a Master of Music in Performance under the supervision of Pierre-Vincent Plante in 2001, Julie Sirois-Leclerc has trained with major European and American musicians at international camps and internships. She has received several prizes and grants in provincial, national and international competitions. Sirois-Leclerc served as Principal English Horn with the Orchestre Métropolitain and has toured in many major cities in Europe and Asia as part of large ensembles as well as a chamber musician and soloist. She teaches oboe at the Université de Sherbrooke. In parallel with her musical career, Sirois-Leclerc is also a doctor; in 2013, she completed her emergency medicine residency and has been working as an emergency doctor at the Montreal Heart Institute ever since. Julie Sirois-Leclerc has been a member of the NEM since 2014.
A graduate from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and McGill University, flutist Jeffrey Stonehouse performs on stages across Canada as well as internationally in Europe, the United States, and Mexico. Highly active on the Montreal new music scene, he is co-founder and artistic director of Paramirabo and performs with the ECM+, SMCQ, and No Hay Banda. He is the artistic director of the specialized presenter Le Vivier. Jeffrey also works as a freelancer with orchestras in Quebec. He performs with the Metropolitan Orchestra, I Musici, and the symphony orchestras of Trois-Rivières, Laval, Quebec, and Drummondville. As a soloist, he has performed with the Metropolitan Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, and at festivals such as the Computer Music Days (Paris), Cluster New Music + Integrated Arts (Winnipeg), Mise-En (New York), and the Chrysanthemums and Maple Leaves Festival (Vancouver). He is the winner of the best performer award at the Soundscape festival (Maccagno, Italy) and the 2nd prize of the TD-Canada Trust Young Artist Competition. Jeffrey is a professor and co-coordinator of the new music internship at Domaine Forget and teaches at Cégep de Drummondville. Among his other projects are the iso project (with harpist Robin Best) and Altra Voce (with soprano Sarah Albu). He can be heard on several albums under the labels: ATMA, Naxos, Centrediscs, and Redshift Records.
Jeffrey Stonehouse has been a member of the NEM since 2021.
Montreal-based percussionist David Therrien Brongo leads a multifaceted career as a performer, educator, and researcher. Known for his virtuosity, musicality, and rigorous work, he frequently collaborates with various ensembles, including l’Orchestre de l’Agora and the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Symphony Orchestra, where he holds the positions of principal timpanist-percussionist. He is also a founding member of Duo AIRS. From 2016 to 2023, he served as the principal percussionist of Ensemble Paramirabo. Additionally, he is a frequent extra musician with many organizations, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, and the Sixtrum ensemble. David earned a Doctorate in Performance from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University under the guidance of Fabrice Marandola. His research, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, focused on solo percussion performance in Quebec.
After studying with Walter Joachim, Julie Trudeau continued her training in Paris with Philippe Muller, thanks to a scholarship from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. She has performed as a soloist with the Orchestre de chambre de l’Estrie, the symphony orchestras of Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Gatineau; as a cellist of the Molinari Quartet (2000-2007), with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Esprit Orchestra of Toronto. Julie Trudeau is a member of the Ponticello Quartet, Ensemble Transmission, and co-founded the Montreal Trio in 2014. She is invited as a soloist and chamber musician to numerous festivals and concert societies in America, Europe, and Asia. Deeply committed to the new generation of musicians, she works closely with young performers and is regularly called upon to guide the creative process of young composers in contemporary music. For several years, she has taught cello privately, at Joseph-François-Perrault school of the CSSDM, at Cégep Marie-Victorin, and at the Camp musical des Laurentides. Finally, she can be heard on ATMA, XXI-21, Naxos, Disque SRC labels, and on the Radio-Canada/CBC airwaves. Julie Trudeau has been a member of the NEM since 2010.
Paolo Corciulo, cello chair
François Vallières began learning the violin at the age of six. In 1996, he was admitted in the class of Sonia Jelinkova at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, then studied viola with Robert Verebes and André Roy. Six years later, he received the Prize with great distinction. The following year, François Vallières moved to the United States to refine his skills with James Dunham, a renowned chamber musician and pedagogue, at Rice University in Houston. Thanks to a full scholarship awarded by the institution, he earned a Master of Music Degree. Throughout his career, he has participated several times in the Tanglewood Music Festival and played under the direction of renowned conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur, Christoph von Dohnanyi, and Seiji Ozawa.
A versatile musician, François Vallières is a member of the McGill Chamber Orchestra, in addition to performing regularly with many ensembles such as I Musici de Montréal, Les Violons du Roy, the Metropolitan Orchestra, as well as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, and the Trois-Rivières Symphony Orchestra. A sought-after copyist, orchestrator, and arranger, his works have been performed by numerous ensembles and artists, such as Marie-Hélène Thibert, Bruno Pelletier, the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, the BUZZ Brass Quintet, and La Pietà with Angèle Dubeau. François Vallières has been a member of the NEM since 2011.
André J. Roy, viola chair
Jocelyn Veilleux graduated from the Montreal Conservatory of Music in 1986, earning First Prizes in horn and chamber music. He continued his education at the University of Montreal, where he completed a master's degree in performance in 1992. In the same year, he received a scholarship from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. As a regular extra with the OSM, Jocelyn Veilleux serves as the principal horn of the Orchestre symphonique de Laval. He also plays with the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières and the Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens, in addition to being a member of the Altsys Jazz Orchestra. He can be heard playing natural, classical, and baroque horn with ensembles such as Ensemble Arion, Les Idées Heureuses, and the New York Society of Early Music. Jocelyn Veilleux also performs as a soloist with the Orchestre de chambre de l'Estrie, Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, Orchestre Symphonique de Mont-Royal, Les Violons du Roy, and the Jeunes Virtuoses de Montréal. In addition to his performance career, he is a horn professor at Cégep St-Laurent, Collège Marie-Victorin, and Collège Vanier. He also teaches as a lecturer at Concordia University. Jocelyn Veilleux has been a member of the NEM (Nouvel Ensemble Moderne) since 1998.
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